Posted on 04/28/2005 7:15:51 AM PDT by Right Wing Professor
Morning Edition, April 28, 2005 · A group of wildlife scientists believe the ivory-billed woodpecker is not extinct. They say they have made seven firm sightings of the bird in central Arkansas. The landmark find caps a search that began more than 60 years ago, after biologists said North Americas largest woodpecker had become extinct in the United States.
The large, showy bird is an American legend -- it disappeared when the big bottomland forests of North America were logged, and relentless searches have produced only false alarms. Now, in an intensive year-long search in the Cache River and White River national wildlife refuges involving more than 50 experts and field biologists working together as part of the Big Woods Partnership, an ivory-billed male has been captured on video.
"We have solid evidence, there are solid sightings, this bird is here," says Tim Barksdale, a wildlife photographer and biologist.
For an NPR/National Geographic Radio Expeditions story, NPR science correspondent Christopher Joyce joined the search last January along Arkansas White River, where a kayaker spotted what he believed to be an ivory-billed woodpecker more than a year ago. Many other similar sightings over the last 60 years have raised false hopes.
But this time, Joyce reports that experts associated with the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in New York and The Nature Conservancy were able to confirm the sighting. They kept the find a secret for more than a year, partly to give conservation groups and government agencies time to protect the birds habitat.
The Nature Conservancy has been buying and protecting land along the White and Cache Rivers for years, along with the state and the federal Fish and Wildlife Service. Since the discovery, they've bought more land to protect the bird.
I agree with what you said, but I am really excited about this find. It is just fascinating. I hope it is not this lone male.
And..? Yes, honeybees were imported by Eurpeans apparently almost 400 years ago. Of course we had many pollinators at that time, none producing honey I suppose.
The bees have been naturalized for such a long time, that to lose them at this point could be calamitous. They pollinate about 25% ot the world's flowering plants. It is still be debated as to whether their pollinating has had a detrimental affect on native bees.
In any case, the loss of perhaps 80% of colonies in some areas, is already having consequences for fammers. Many of them raising non native crop. Citrus farmers in Floriada are beng affected, not to mention the almond growers. And one of the largest aliens species introduced in the US is cattle. Cattle eat clover as part of their diet. What will our ranch folks do if their cows aren't thriving so well because the honybee isn't there
That fact is what makes seeing them so exciting for me. They are also very beautiful birds.
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker became too specialized. Their strength and size developed so that they could eat specific beatle larva inside the thick bark of freshly dead or dying trees. They need large expanses of forest to provide enough of these trees for them to have food. They needed large amounts of a resource that people needed in large amounts as well. They lost. I'm a birdwatcher, and I'm also excited about the find. I'm not willing to see further loss of property rights over them.
Bill
I'm pretty sure that they never lived that far north. Of course, they may have avoided Pennsylvania because the Pennsylvanians kept mistaking them for turkeys.
The big point around the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is that it needs a tremendous amount of resources to survive. Unfortunately, it needed those resources at a time when the rest of the country needed those resources as well. It lost. There's a lesson there about not becoming too specialized. Filling a niche is nice, but that strategy is a ticket to starvation if the niche could disappear. Teaching people that truth is still more important than saving one species of bird.
That situation is tremendously different from the situation of the victims of Muslim jihadists. They weren't taking any more resources than anyone else was. They were just living their normal lives until they were killed by enemies of our country. The survival lesson in that situation is that we must kill our enemies or force them to surrender before those enemies kill us.
I think it would be great if we bring back the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. I've been bird-watching for a few years, and I'd love to see one. However, I wouldn't make that effort at the expense of property rights. It's easy for people to scream for preservation of something when they aren't the ones who have to make the sacrifice. It's easy when they don't work in an industry that would be impacted by effort. I don't think conservatives are against these animals as much as they are for preserving individual liberty and rights.
I hope that your post won't be your only post to Free Republic. While I found fault with the argument that you made, I appreciate that you brought some interesting and specialized knowledge to our discussion. I think there is a time and place for conservation. I love hiking, bird-watching, kayaking, and other outdoor pursuits. I've spent a great deal of time in our national parks. I think your perspective is a good one to have represented at Free Republic.
Bill
I did too. It was particularly surprising because I was on the outskirts of Houston.
Damn, first they find that crazy bride, now they find an extinct bird. Who else is going to turn up today?
A moderate Democrat?
The above post is for Lafroste. Sorry.
Sorry, post 132 is for Lafroste.
Thanks for pinging me on the question about the traditional range for the IBWP. I was interested in the question as well.
I live in Louisiana and am on a listserve with some of the folks who've played a part in all of this work. I'll try to pass along any good gossip that I hear.
Thanks,
Bill
Sigh. However, did you expect anything different?
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